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Topic: DIY pizza prep station (Read 18432 times)

I decided to build a pizza prep station for the garage. Running pies from the kitchen to the oven is for the birds, and the chicken sh^t little table I was using outside was a joke. I designed it around an insulated trough sized to fit (10) 1/6 standard steam table containers. The trough is R15 on the bottom and R10 on the sides, so it should hold Ice pretty good. I glassed in the insulation with 2 layers of fiberglass. It has a drain in the center. After I put it in, I decided it would have been better at one end, but it should be fine in the middle.

The work surface is going to be red oak that I'll Sand down to 600 grit, so it will be smooth as glass. If I don't like the wood, I'll either laminate formica on it, or replace it with something else. The work surface will be 23" x 72". In this set of pictures, you can see the insulated trough going together along with the worktop and the backsplash.

Can't you use some kind of thermoelectric to keep it cool? What do commercial units use?

Also, the red oak you are using looks exactly the same as the type I used for a corner unit recently, it warped quickly in my garage, and I had to do a lot of clamping.

I think commercial units typically use traditional refrigeration. I didn't want anything that could break down (or cost much for that matter). I'm a little worried about warping. It will be heavily secured. If it becomes a problem, I'll replace it with something synthetic. It is designed to accomodate such a scenairo.

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"We make great pizza, with sourdough when we can, commercial yeast when we must, but always great pizza."Craig's Neapolitan Garage

I once made a typical countertop out of MDF, then brought it to a metal fabricator and asked him to sheath it in galvanized steel? The overall island dimensions were 5'-6" x 2'-4" and it had a 1-1/2" down bend. It worked great for pizza making. I had about $20 in MDF, and about $160 in the metal top.

I think commercial units typically use traditional refrigeration. I didn't want anything that could break down (or cost much for that matter). I'm a little worried about warping. It will be heavily secured. If it becomes a problem, I'll replace it with something synthetic. It is designed to accomodate such a scenairo.

I wouldn't worry about the warping too much, I only mentioned it as the red oak looks exactly the same as the red oak we stock at work, I only had issues because I was storing it incorrectly and also I think because it's not a solid piece (mine) the 2' x 4'x 1" (really 3/4') are 3 pieces of lumber pressed together in the factory/mill.

scour craigslist or the paper for a mini fridge. use the condenser pump etc in the fridge as a base, and just plumb vent holes in one end, out the other; with a 110v boxfan to pull air, since mini fridges use thermal convection for cooling. keep the fridge for cheese, meat, beer, and bulk cold item storage

craig i have a crap load of plastic covers for the 1/6 containers. cambro sent the wrong style and corrected it.i kept the others and they didn't charge for them ,if you need any pm me.your build looks great!